Apple set for mysterious launch next week

Is the 18th September 'iPhone day' in the UK?

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An interesting invite from the Apple PR department is doing the rounds this morning. There's a mysterious UK Apple press conference scheduled for 18 September at the company's flagship store in Regent Street, London.

That's a Tuesday too. Historically, Apple always launches new products on a Tuesday, so speculation is running wild that this UK-specific launch will announce the UK iPhone.

Is it the iPhone launch?

But is it really the long-awaited iPhone announcement? Apple isn't saying. The smart money is on a press conference that says something like: "we'd like to reveal that O2 will be distributing the iPhone in the UK"

If it isn't that badly kept secrey, maybe Apple will reveal that movie downloads will be hitting iTunes in the UK? Could Tuesday's get-together be Beatles-related? Or could it be something to do with the new Leopard Mac OS X upgrade? This might be Mac-related, not iPhone-related.

All we know for sure is that the invite came with the words "Mum is no longer the word" in the heading. Make of that what you will. Obviously it suggests that Apple is prepared to spill a secret - and the only real secrets left spilling for UK Apple fans are: "who's doing the iPhone?", "when can I buy one?" and "how much is it going to cost me?"

Excitement is building

To be honest, the excitement factor around Apple at the moment is sky-high. The company could entice us to the opening of a letter and we'd probably all turn up expectantly with our tape recorders. But who else is really shaking up the technology market this year?

Take a look at the Apple invite in more detail over at the MacFormat blog. More news when we get it.